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Album Details

• Artist: Joy Division
• Album: Substance
• Label: Center Date
• Year of Release: 1988
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-03-30

I have been meaning to pick up this album for ages. It was the movie 24 Hour Party People that finally got me out to pay money for this band that I knew very little about. While Joy Division basically only ever put out 2 albums before the suicide of front man Ian Curtis but they made a dent on the post-punk world that still echoes today with bands like Interpol, a carbon copy of Joy Division. I really got into New Order when I was younger, but I never sought out the pre-New Order roots. With that in mind, I decided to go for Substance, Joy Divisions compilation. It collected pretty much every single the band had released as well as numerous B-Sides and other album tracks. For the uninitiated like myself, Substance filled the hole perfectly. Seeing that Joy Division was such a brief existence, Substance holds together nicely. The tracks all fit together nicely with their dark pop overtones and Curtis' introspective lyrics. With such amazing tracks as the aggressive "Digital" and their huge hit "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (one of the first tracks to incorporate the taboo synthesizer) there really is no replacement for this style of moody pop. Even today, Joy Division rings out as an original band and up comers look to the band for inspiration and ideas. Joy Division has a permanent spot in the history books.

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